Charles Smith > Recent Status Updates

“all men believed in God, even those who turn their backs on him”

i appreciate how well this story is paced for how short it is. i probably could be done with it by the end of the day.

"The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all"

the same plot twist has happened 4 times already and at this point i can't even tell what they're actually fighting for or if that thing is even a threat to happen.

"You are false kings, but you are true prophets. I am come to destroy you, and to fulfil your prophecies"

at least the 2nd book started slightly better than the 1st, although the conflict might be a little sillier than the 1st

i actually can't believe i read this as a child lol

the journey of magister ludi joseph knecht has come to an end.

"he loved nothing but his freedom, his perpetual student status, and preferred spending his whole life as the unpredictable and obstinate loner, the gifted fool and nihilist, to following the path of subordination to the hierarchy and thus attaining peace"

i'm slightly disappointed that the titular game is seemingly more symbolic in the story than an actual game, but i do appreciate how it is representative of joseph's growth in the story.

"History, after all, consisted of an unbroken sucession of rulers, leaders, bosses, and commanders who with extremely rare exceptions had all begun well and ended badly. All of them, at least so they said, had striven for power for the sake of the good; afterward they had become obsessed and numbed by power and loved it for its own sake."

"There is truth, my boy. But the doctrine you desire, absolute, perfect dogma that alone provides wisdom, does not exist. Nor should you long for a perfect doctrine, my friend. Rather, you should long for the perfection of yourself. The deity is within you, not in ideas and books. Truth is lived, not taught."

this book talks about joseph like he's the michael jackson of intellectualism

i'm amazed at how so much was detailed about the history of the glass bead game, yet very little was said about the actual rules of the game or how it's even played.

lorn au arcos is becoming my favorite character

this is a perfect sequel to an already good story

book 2 started off HOT!

i am going to try and finish this tonight, the way this story is going i don't think i'll be able to sleep until i know what happens.

“It’s terrible to be old, and just lie here wondering when it will happen.”

the way they talk about the jackal seems like you're not supposed to like him, but he just sounds so cool and such a chaotic evil even without actually appearing yet that i can't help but liking him lmao.

the story suddenly turned into a hunger games & lord of the flies hybrid and i am now fully locked in.

now that the pacing is starting to slow down a bit, the story is getting better. house mars sounds like it will be very intriguing.

the pacing is interesting to say the least

this story is reaching a climax i'm not sure i'm fully prepared for.